Luciano Grimaldi
by Via2487
Summary: What if Luke had been raised by Damian? Luke/Reid AU
1. Chapter 1

Title: Luciano Grimaldi

Author: Sage

Work in Progress

Genre: AU

Fandom: As The World Turns

Pairing: Luke/Reid

Malta

1992

A cold wind blew along the cliffs as Damian Grimaldi stared into the turbulent water below, his jaw clenched tight as the murky water below swirled mockingly.

"Damian please…." The soft voice behind him was barely audible as the angry wind picked up neatly echoing the rise of his emotions.

"No." The words were flat and toneless, surprising even Damian in their lack of emotion.

"You can't keep him from me."

Damian turned around sharply. "I can't keep him from you? That's rich," Damian laughed harshly. "You were going to take him back to America. You were going to take my child, my son, from me."

"He's my son too."

"I know." Damian forced himself to take a deep breath. Bleak eyes connected with the woman he loved despite her betrayal. The woman he might always love he realized with a sickening feeling in his stomach. He was a Grimaldi, damn it. Grimaldi's don't do pitiful. "My offer still stands. You can stay with him, here in Malta. Not with me. I want nothing to do with you. There is a house on the estate. You can live there. You can see him as much and as often as you want. I have no desire to keep my son from his mother." He ran a hand through his hair. "I will however do everything and anything I need to do to keep his mother from her lover."

"Holden is more than my lover." Lily begged softly. "He is the man I love."

"I remember when you said those words to me." Damian scoffed. "Does Holden know that your so-called love changes with the wind?"

"That's not fair." Lily cried. "It wasn't like that."

"It was exactly like that. You promised me your love and your loyalty. Fucking Holden in my bed is somehow at odds with that promise."

The slap across his cheek echoed as Damian grabbed her hand. "Don't. Don't forget for a moment who I am. I am not some farm boy and I am not your toy. In my world a betrayal like yours could be fatal."

"You can't threaten me. My mother…."

"Can do nothing. The fact that you think Lucinda Walsh could touch the heir to the Grimaldi fortune tells me that you have learned nothing about me over the last five years. Of course I knew that when I realized that you thought I would blithely let you walk away with the most important person in the world to me."

"Damian…. Damian. Don't do this. You are not your family."

"No I am not." Damian grinned and for the first time Lily felt fear. "I was what my family made me into. Now I am what you made me into."

"You are asking me to choose between my son and the man I love."

"There is no choice. Stay here. Be with our son. Be where a mother should be."

Lily shivered at the future Damian's words presented her.

"I can't…..I can't imagine my life without Holden." Lily's voice was broken and Damian hated himself for hating how much she was hurting. He gathered his anger around him like a shield before he gave in to the need to make things better for her.

"Then the decision is made. You and your lover will leave Malta within the hour." Damian stated softly. "I will make the necessary arrangements."

"Damian wait!" Lily called after him. "Luke. You can't mean to keep him from me forever. You can't be that cruel."

"Cruel is …" He turned around and stopped. "It doesn't matter. What's done is done. You made a choice. Now you have to live with it."

"Damian….. Don't hate me. Don't let him hate me."

"Lily…. If I have my way he won't even know you exist." With those words Damian turned back down the path to his son, leaving more than one life shattered behind him.

2010 Oakdale

Dr. Reid Oliver was angry, which was not a new state for him, and confused, which definitely was. He had been in Oakdale for six months and had spent five of those six months feeling like he was trapped in some twilight zone version of Doc Hollywood. Not that he would admit to having seen that particular movie but he had vague memories of being really drunk one night at Harvard and having to sit through a Michael J. Fox festival. Or maybe it was watching three Michael J. Fox movies in a row that had caused him to get drunk. Whatever. The point was that he was trapped in Oakhell and was counting the minutes, maybe even the seconds, until his forced servitude was over.

Which was why he was staring at Dr. Bob Hughes in horror.

"You did what?"

"I told you Dr. Oliver." Bob sat back calmly. "I've contacted your hospital administrator in Dallas and asked him to extend your exchange program. He had no problem agreeing to my request. Something about time spent in a smaller, more personal hospital setting would be good to help you fine tune your people skills."

"I'm a neurosurgeon." Reid shot back. "I don't need people skills. It's not like I'm going to have a chat with a brain before I cut into it."

"And to think Dr. Simpkins thought you lacked people skills." Chris Hughes shook his head. "Can't imagine what gave him that impression?"

"Shut up Doogie." Reid growled. "This is a mistake. Dallas Memorial can't live without me. I have patients waiting for me."

"Dr. Simpkins thought they could live without you for another three months. He even offered to pay your rent and box up anything you wanted shipped."

"No. This is not happening. You can't keep me here." Reid swore softly under his breath. He knew that Simpkins was a homophobic idiot who had been gunning for him sense the first time he had public berated him for being a homophobic idiot. He could see him gleefully doing whatever he could to make his life miserable.

"Your contract with Dallas Memorial is ironclad and so is our exchange agreement. Don't worry Dr. Oliver. We'll do our best to keep you entertained."

Five hours and two surgeries later, Reid was standing at the nurses station updating some medication orders when he heard his name called.

"Dr. Oliver."

He contemplated saying nothing but then turned. What the hell? It wasn't like his day could get worse.

Or maybe it could. He stared at the young man in front of him. European clothes, a slight accent, lithe body, and a cold hard stare. The man was sex personified, even with a jagged scar across his face.

Except for the fact that he was holding the hand of a very small child and accompanied by an older, stocky man who he assumed was a bodyguard from the shoulder holster he wore.

"I am Luciano Grimaldi." The blonde's tone was neither boastful nor bragging but nonetheless commanding in its intensity. He announced who he was as if his identity should already be known. "This is Tonio." What Reid could only imagine was a rare smile flitted across the other man's voice as he looked at the small boy next to him. "He has a brain tumor. You will cure him."

The words were said in such a matter of fact manner that it took a moment for them to sink in.

"I'm sorry I don't do command performances."

He turned to leave and found himself held in a steely grip. "I apologize Dr. Oliver for my lack of manners, but I have flown here straight from Rome because I am told that you are the best."

"I am the best but I still don't jump because someone says jump Mr. Grimaldi."

"I am a wealthy man. I can make it worth your while."

"And what when I fail I wake up with a horses head in the bed next to me?"

"If that's what you are afraid of Dr. Oliver, may I suggest then that you do not fail?"

Blue eyes met brown for the briefest of seconds and Reid knew that his bad day was just about to get a lot worse.

Luc felt a shiver pass through him as he watched Tonio disappear into the MRI chamber. Although he grumbled a lot, the American doctor had at least agreed to run the tests to see for himself what Tonio's condition was. Luc forced himself to calm down as he waited outside the viewing window. He kept his mind focused on the boy and not on the growing unease he was feeling. He didn't want to be here, in this town. He glanced at the doctor as he monitored the test. The doctors in Rome had said that Oliver was the best. He hoped they were right. If anything happened to Tonio….

"I don't suppose it would do me any good to remind you that it was not your fault." The soft, slightly British voice in his ear made him turn. Thorne had been with him since he was a boy and was one of the few people he trusted without reservation. Luc shook his head.

"How is it not my fault?" He murmured making sure to keep his voice too low for the American doctor to hear. "They died because of me." He paused allowing the grief to overwhelm him for the briefest of seconds before he pushed it away.

"He did his job. Those who work for you….We would lay down our life for you. It has been that way for generations and it will be that way for generations to come."

"It is archaic."

"Yes." A pause. "But it is our way. He knew what was at stake and he made his choice. Don't belittle his sacrifice with guilt he would not want you to feel."

Luc bit his lip, feeling as if he had had this discussion a thousand times. Maybe he had. He was a Grimaldi. It was like belonging to a secret club. Money. Power. And a burden that was often crushing in its intensity. Unconsciously his fingers traced the jagged scar along his cheek. He had rebelled once and look what it had cost. He would not rebel again.

He turned back to his long term advisor. "I need to make a call to Tokyo and tell them I will not be there tomorrow for the meetings."

"They won't like it."

"They don't get a choice." He turned his direction once more to the small frame being swallowed by the steel machine. "I watched him bleed to death for me. I won't leave his son alone, not for some business deal that can wait." Unconsciously his gaze shifted to the doctor as he exited and joined them in the hallway. "What is the prognosis?"

Reid shook his head. "That I'm not a miracle worker." He watched as the nurse helped the boy off the machine and took him back to change his before turning back to the other man. "The boy is dying. The tumor is too big and its location makes it impossible to get to."

"I was told you were the best. Perhaps I was told wrong."

"I am the best and I am telling you that there is nothing I can do. Nothing."

"I don't believe that. I won't believe that. He's only six."

"Cancer doesn't give a damn how old you are Mr. Grimaldi."

"There has to be something."

"There is nothing."

The two men stared at each and Reid frowned as he watched the fire in the other man abruptly die as he seemed to age, his shoulders lowering as if the weight of the world had just been placed on him.

Abruptly, without a word, Luc turned and walked away, ignoring Reid's startled outburst.

"What the hell?" Reid turned to the older man who had stood silent. "Does your boss usually behave like a spoiled brat when he doesn't get his own way?"

Thorne looked at Reid with disdain and even Reid would admit, if he absolutely had to, that his remark was out of line.

"Mr. Grimaldi cares deeply about the boy." Thorne paused. "He and Tonio's father grew up together. He owes the family."

"Owes them how?"

Thorne frowned as he searched for the right words. "I do not know the term here in America but in Malta we call it a blood debt."

"What?"

"It is not easy being Luciano Grimaldi. There are many who would destroy the Grimaldi family because of their wealth and power. Many who would not hesitate to kill Luciano. It is something he has had to live with."

"That's crazy. That's why we have police."

"He was ten years old," Thorne continued as if he had not spoken. "There was a bomb planted in a gazebo on the estate. A place where Luciano and his tutor would sit and read together. Luciano had a puppy that he took everywhere. Luciano and his tutor were walking across the garden and the puppy ran ahead to the gazebo and…." Thorne's voice sounded old and sad. "He insisted on digging the grave himself."

Reid was appalled. "And Tonio? You said it was a blood debt."

"Tonio's father was a young man named Giancarlo. When Giancarlo's wife was pregnant he needed a job. Luciano hired him as a driver. There was an…argument between some old Maltese families. Luciano thought he could resolve it without anyone getting hurt. He had Giancarlo drive him to what he thought was a meeting, but was really an ambush. Giancarlo pushed him out of the way. He died but he made it possible for Luciano to live. When his wife learned of what happened, she went into labor. There were complications. She didn't make it."

They both watched as down the hall Tonio came out with the nurse and ran into Luc's arms.

"Like I said a blood debt."

Thorne strode away and left Reid to ponder what was said as he watched the way Mr. Grimaldi held the boy tight.

"Dammit." He swore to himself again, made a mental note to send one of the interns to Al's for a sandwich, and prepared to spend the next few hours looking at MRI results for a third, fourth, and possibly fifth time to see if he could make another miracle happen.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Reid Oliver found himself staring in fascination at the house in front of him. It was large, with sweeping columns and a wrap around veranda, a three car garage and a large brick walkway leading to massive oak doors. While it looked like a house belonging to the half of the world known as the halves, it was definitely more Knots Landing than Dallas. It wasn't exactly what he was expecting from the heir to the Grimaldi dynasty.

Reid had spent the last two days, when he wasn't doing frantic research or helping Katie with a cranky Jacob, googling Luciano Grimaldi and what he had found was disappointing. The young man kept himself away from the paparazzi and firmly out of the limelight and most of his comings and goings seemed to be cloaked in a veil of secrecy.

Dammit if Reid wasn't intrigued and halfway into lust, not a good combination in his experience. Especially as there had been no hint of any sexuality other than hetero in what he had read online.

"Dr. Oliver?" Reid turned sharply at the amused tone in the bodyguard's voice. The man was dressed in what Reid assumed were casual bodyguard clothes, khaki's and a t-shirt, his gun casually in the holster at his side. The older man smiled. "If this is about the hospital bill, I can guarantee you that we are good for it."

Reid snorted. "Do I look like an accountant?"

"Actually…."

"Shut up." Reid said automatically and then realized he had just told the heavily armed professional killer to shut up. Maybe Katie was right about his ego getting him in trouble. "I mean that I am here to see Mr. Grimaldi. About Tonio."

A shadow crossed the man's face and he nodded. "They are out by the pool. I'll take you there."

"I would have thought you would have been back in Malta by now, private jet and all that."

"Luciano is determined to give Tonio anything he wants and Tonio wants to go to Disney World."

The sound of laughter drew Reid's attention and he looked out the French doors they were approaching. The backyard was absolutely gorgeous, set back against the hill side it featured a large mosaic brick patio leading to an infinity pool with a slide and a diving board. Off to the side was a large hot tub and outdoor kitchen. All in all, the backyard was like something out of a magazine. As he spotted two more bodyguards standing like sentinels he mentally changed the name of the magazine from Architectural Digest to True Crime.

"It is beautiful, isn't it?" Reid almost jumped at the soft tones and he turned to find that he hadn't imagined the intensity of those eyes.

"It's not the Lakeview."

Luc laughed. "No it's not. It is however home, even if for only a little while."

"I would have expected you in something more…. Ornate."

Luc took a sip of the wine in his glass and shook his head. "I think you have seen The Godfather too many times, Dr. Oliver. I don't know if I can live up to this image you have. I am a simple man."

"Simple is not the word that comes to mind when I think of you."

"Why Dr. Oliver, are you admitting that you think of me?"

Reid tried to stop the heat that threatened to engulf him at the frank and appraising stare the younger man gave him. Reid was far from a blushing virgin and in most of his previous relationships he had been the one to call the shots. Reid had decided when, where, and how often. He had always been the one to walk away. He was always the one in control. And while they weren't in a relationship, weren't really anything at all, there was something about Luciano Grimaldi that threw Reid Oliver just a little off balance. It wasn't a feeling he was used to or particularly liked.

He cleared his throat. "I have some news for you."

Luc nodded. "Let's step outside. Tonio is playing in the pool and I promised him I would watch. Would you like something to drink?"

Reid shook his head and followed the younger man outside. He watched as the young boy determinedly traversed the length of the pool, his arms holding on to a kickboard as he practiced to kicking and breathing.

"He seems to be doing better."

"He has good days and bad days. Today is a good day. Although I would chalk that up more to the sunshine and the promise of a trip to Disneyworld."

"I was told you were planning a trip to the land of the mouse."

Luc looked at him sideways. "Dr. Oliver in our brief acquaintance the one thing that I have come to appreciate about you, maybe the only thing I appreciate about you, is your ability to cut through the small talk and get to the point. If you are here to deliver more bad news than please do so."

"It's not bad news. I mean it may not be good news, but its definitely not bad news." Reid took another deep breath. "I may be able to help your ward."

"How? You said it was inoperable."

"It is. Its current size and location make it impossible to get to. But if we can change the size, make it smaller …"

"You can remove it." Luc was suddenly all business, all trace of the relaxed and smooth playboy gone. "What do you need?"

"Not so fast. We don't have time for radiation or chemo and there's no guarantee either of those would work anyway. But they are trying this new experimental procedure at Northwestern. It's a new drug, or rather a new combination of old drugs, and they've seen some good results in the first round of trials so they are expanding and."

"They can help Tonio?"

"Maybe. He's younger and his case is more advanced but they are willing to try." Reid didn't bother to mention the hours of begging they had put him through or the guest lecture he had to promise to give.

Luc nodded standing up. "What do I need to do? We can be in Chicago within an hour."

"You won't need to be. They are willing to let me administer the medications here at Memorial as long as I follow their protocol."

Luc sat down again, heavily. "I thought I was going to lose him."

"You still might." Reid cautioned.

"But now there is hope where there was none. It is amazing." Luke hugged him, ignoring Reid's stiffness. "Graci Dr. Oliver. Thank you. If there is anything I can do to repay you…..anything you want….." There was an air of absolute sincerity around the younger man. "Anything you want that I can give is yours."

Reid considered for a minute. A multitude of things crossed his mind. A Porsche. Equipment for the hospital. His own private yacht. A pony for Jacob. Scratch that, Katie would kill him. A motorcycle for Jacob. Much better. He would grow into it some day. He looked at his feet for a minute. Luciano Grimaldi, who could buy and sell nations, was offering him anything he wanted. Luciano Grimaldi whose brown eyes beckoned him and whose spirit seemed to have entranced him, was offering him anything he wanted. Anything.

"Dr. Oliver?" Luc queried gently. "Is there something you want."

"A date." Reid blurted out before he could second guess himself. "I want you to go on a date with me."

That evening Luc found himself grinning as he fastened a silk tie and checked his image in the floor length mirror. He knew he looked good, you didn't grow up with the most polished of European cities as your playground without learning how to dress to impress. What surprised him was the glint of life, the excitement in his eyes. He had been shocked when Dr. Oliver, Reid, had requested a date, but it had been a pleasant surprise. Dr. Oliver was interesting and it had been a long time since Luciano Grimaldi had found anything interesting.

"This is not a good idea."

"What is a tie too formal?" Luc kept his voice even. He wanted to hold onto his good mood.

"Luciano."

The problem with keeping servants who have been around for most of your life, is that they become the bane of your existence- whether they catch you sneaking out of your bedroom window when you are 12 or try to kill the mood when you are 24.

"Luciano." Thorne's voice was sharper. "You are making a mistake."

Luc sighed. "You're absolutely right." He pulled the tie around his neck off and threw it down as he turned around. "Tonio!"

The boy looked up from where he was jumping up and down on Luc's bed.

"Stop jumping on my bed." The boy sighed and sat down sadly. Luc grinned. "Go jump on Thorne's bed. It bounces higher."

He laughed as Tonio raced out of the room and ignored Thorne's growl. "I know you are worried my friend, but there is nothing to worry about. I assume you checked out Dr. Oliver and he is not some kind of mad man or serial killer and he is neither Team Edward or Team Jacob…. So I don't see the problem with going out for drinks and maybe dinner?"

"You could at least take a few of the men with you."

Luc raised an eyebrow. "I could but I won't. I want one evening where I don't have to worry about anything."

"It isn't safe."

"Nothing in my life is safe so why should tonight be any different." Luc shrugged. "If it comes to it, I promise you that we will use a condom."

"Don't." Thorne shook his head. "Don't make light of what could happen. What has happened. Don't forget what happened."

Anger blazed in Luc's eyes. "You cross a line my friend. Never again suggest that I have forgotten. I was there. I have the scars." He unclenched his fist and forced himself to take a deep breath. "I know who I am." There was an edge to his voice as he continued that reminded Thorne of the young, vulnerable boy he had first met. "Tomorrow I will be Luciano Grimaldi. Tomorrow I will worry about shipping deals, business allies, and whether my tea is poisoned. Tonight, tonight I want to be Luc." He laughed, shifting the mood away from anything personal. "Besides this is Oakdale. If I could survive Bangkok during monsoon season, Oakdale has to be a breeze." He looked the other man straight in the eyes as the doorbell sounded. "I won't forget who I am."

Thorne watched the other man disappear through the doorway. "It's not that I think you will forget who you are." He whispered to himself. "I worry that you will forget where you are."


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Luciano Grimaldi

Author: Sage

Author's Note: Thank you for the positive feedback. I'm going out of town for the holiday so I hope to post more next week. And I chose Laurel Falls from Guiding Light for the big date because the first scene on the first soap opera I ever watched was set there.

Chapter 3

Reid Oliver could count on one hand the number of times he had found himself tongue tied. Actually, he could count on one finger the number of times he had found himself tongue tied. Once. Now.

It was a bright and sunny afternoon. He was driving a sports car, albeit one borrowed from Katie's dead husband's cousin's ex-wife. He had a gorgeous man in the passenger seat next to him. And he couldn't think of a word to say. Not one word that wouldn't make him sound like an idiot or worse a lovesick fool. Because while he might find himself attracted to Luc, that was all it was- a physical attraction to a guy who was the embodiment of hot. After all, if anyone knew that the body and the mind were too separate and distinct entities, it would be him, right?

"Dr. Oliver?" Luc's voice was slightly teasing and completely comfortable as he pushed back against the leather seats.

"Reid." Did his voice actually crack? "I mean you can call me Reid."

From the way Luc was grinning, it must have cracked. Great.

"Okay, Reid. Do I get to know where we are going? We left Oakdale 25 minutes ago and we don't appear to be slowing down."

"Are you afraid that I am going to kidnap you or something?"

Dark look and a clinching of his jaw. "No. I know what that feels like." His voice breaks off and he is quiet, withdrawn.

Reid swore inwardly. Maybe he should stick to being the strong silent type. He seemed to be failing small talk 101.

Luc forced his thoughts in another direction. He wanted this date to be different. "So tell me all about Dr. Reid Oliver? Favorite food? Favorite color? What you wanted to be when you grew up?"

"Favorite color? All those articles I read about you, not one of them mentioned that you were in reality a 14 year old girl." Reid shot back. So no small talk then, straight to snarky. Apparently Reid was going with the "stick with what you know" school of socializing. This was going to go well."

Luc however seemed to find it amusing. "You've been reading about me? First you think about me and then you read up on me? Which of us is really the fourteen year old girl?" Luciano laughed and Reid found himself smiling. "I would tell you that my favorite was the one that they did for Dog Fancy, my least favorite was the one for People, because I sounded like a complete and total airhead, and about 90% of what they said was fabricated." Luc shrugged. "Truthfully unless I need publicity for the Grimaldi Foundation, I tend to avoid the press."

"People? They wrote about you in People?"

"People? You've read People?" Luciano mocked Reid with that same amused air.

"I don't. My roommate does." Pause. "Okay I'll bite. How did you end up in People?"

"Their 50 Most Beautiful People Issue of course." Luc replied calmly. "I think I was number #31 between Justin Timberlake and Jake Gylenhall."

Silence. "You are kidding me, right."

Luciano laughed outright. "Of course I am. I can assure you Dr. Oliver, sorry Reid, that my business interests keep me far too busy to worry about whether an American pop magazine thinks I'm sexy. " His eyes slid downward and the smile disappeared for a moment. "Besides I think a scar across most of your cheek kind of disqualifies you from the most beautiful people list."

Reid swerved the car slightly as he turned to stare at Luc. "Are you kidding me? Do you really not get how dangerous and sexy that scar makes you look?" He shook his head. "Besides I knew you were kidding when you mentioned that you were between Timberlake and that guy from Brokeback."

"You did?"

"Oh yeah. You are really much, much cuter than Justin Timberlake."

This time it was Luciano who was struck silent and Reid who was grinning.

Twenty minutes later. "So, where are we going? I have to tell you that I left my passport in my other jeans. Although I could make a few calls if I needed to…." He stopped at Reid's stare and shrugged. "Too much?"

"Slightly." Reid took a deep breath. "Look, I don't do the whole "emotionally connecting" thing, but I didn't ask you out to get to know Luciano Grimaldi. I just want to get to know Luciano."

Luc tried stared at him curiously. He was used to people wanting to get close to him because of his name, the Grimaldi fortune, and the power both brought him. He had never met anyone who was just interested in Luciano. He wasn't even sure that he knew who Luciano was. His eyes lowered. Maybe Thorne had been right even if it had been for the wrong reason. Maybe Dr. Reid Oliver was dangerous.

"Laurel Falls."

"What?"

"You asked me where we were going. Laurel Falls. It's outside of Springfield. We have about another 30 minutes drive." Reid shrugged. "There's a picnic in the trunk. I thought we could hike up to the falls. Have dinner."

"A picnic?" Luc paused. "That's actually kind of sweet."

"It's not sweet," Reid growled. "It's practical. That way we don't have to worry about any busy bodies."

"Worried about being on the cover of the National Enquirer as Luciano Grimaldi's latest boy toy?"

"What? No. I wasn't worried about the paparazzi. I was more worried about the gossip mongers of Oakdale, my roommate included."

Luke laughed and Reid found himself grinning. "Besides," Reid continued. "I thought it would be nice to swim at the falls after the hike. It just seemed like a perfect idea."

"Swim? I didn't bring my swim trunks."

Reid smiled. "Like I said, perfect."

Two hours later, Luc had to admit that Reid Oliver was one of the most intriguing, attractive, and egotistic men that he had met. Laurel Falls was a beautiful spot, a series of falls over smooth rock surrounded by forest. The falls fell into a pond at the bottom that was surrounded by grass. Even with the heat of the day, the thick canopy of trees cast enough shade to keep the air cool and if he closed his eyes he could hear the sounds of the forest around him. Despite having grown up in luxury villas and expensive resorts, Luc had always been drawn to the simple and natural. Topped off with a great dinner that he was pretty sure was homemade and included champagne, Luc had to admit that Reid had planned a pretty awesome first date. Wait a minute. First date? He wasn't seriously viewing this as the start of something…..

"A penny for your thoughts?" Reid's voice trailed off lazily from where he sat leaning against a rock a few feet away.

"A penny?"

"Fine. A lira."

Luc laughed. "You do know that liras were replaced with Euros, even in Malta."

"Do you miss it?"

"Malta?" Luc sighed. "Its home. The Grimaldi estate is beautiful; the villa is between the valleys with their vineyard and the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean. It was the perfect place to grow up. When I wasn't studying, I was horseback riding or sailing or just people watching at the marketplace." He rolled over to watch Reid. "Over the last few years home has been a series of luxury apartments in some of the world's most beautiful and exciting cities. Yet I would trade them all for the view of the sun setting outside my window at the villa."

"So spend more time in Malta. I would think having a fortune larger than most countries would give you the freedom to do whatever the hell you want."

"Grimaldi Shipping has offices around the world, deals with most of the multinational corporations that you can name, and some of the brightest people working for it. Yet when there is trouble or a conflict or a deal that absolutely needs to be made, they call me."

"And you go."

"It's my responsibility. It's what I was groomed for since I was 9 years old."

"Does it make you happy?"

Luc paused. "It doesn't make me unhappy. And I've learned over the years that it is my responsibility and it's my duty."

"With great power comes great responsibility."

"Did you just quote Spider Man?"

"Uhmm no."

"You did. You Dr. Reid Oliver are a closet nerd."

"Am not."

Luc closed the gap between them. "Are so. I bet you've seen every Star Trek movie."

"Star Wars."

"Told you. Closet nerd." Luc gazed into hazel eyes and fought the urge to run his fingers through auburn hair. "So which Doctor is your favorite?"

"Ten of course. David Tennant is…." He was stopped by the feel of Luc's lips brushing lightly against his.

"Did I ever tell you that I find closet nerds very attractive?" Luc whispered as he backed away slightly.

Reid pulled Luc back to him. He lowered his face to Luc's and stopped, hovering for a minute. "There is no part of me that is in the closet Mr. Grimaldi." He whispered as his lips found Luc's.

By some kind of unspoken mutual understanding, they stopped after a few kisses, neither of them feeling the need to rush things. It was a novel experience for both men. To just stop in the moment instead of rushing through it. Still, they lay on the grass side by side and if occasionally Luc's head nudged against Reid's side or Reid's fingers played with Luc's hair, neither of them mentioned it.

Reid's fingers drifted to Luc's scar, tracing it gently before stopping when Luc flinched.

"Does it hurt?"

"No."

"You know a plastic surgeon could minimize the scar…"

"No." Luc closed his eyes tiredly. "I don't want it gone. I need it to remind me."

"Remind you of what?"

"Of my father. Of how he died." He sat up, pulling his knees against his chest. "Of how he died because of me."

He felt Reid's arms as the other man pressed up against his back and pulled him close. "Tell me."

Luke hesitated and then nodded. "My father loved me. I always knew that. Even when I angered him and even when he was disappointed in me, I knew he loved me." Luke's voice trailed off.

"I can't imagine you disappointing anyone."

"Let's just say that I was pretty headstrong growing up. I went through just about every phase you can imagine and sometimes my father was amused and sometimes he was frustrated. My father wanted me to be happy but he wanted me to fit the mold of what a Grimaldi heir should be- well educated, polished, cut throat….."

"Cut throat?"

"Let's just say that if Grimaldi Shipping is completely legal today, it hasn't always been. My father was a shark and next to him I was more of a guppy." Luc leaned back. "I didn't want to be part of that world. I was happy in the world I lived in. I spent more time at the villa, less time in the office. My father had to travel for business and I made up excuses to avoid going with him. The last thing I wanted was to be the Grimaldi heir."

"What about your mother?"

Luc tensed. "She left us, left me, when I was a child. She had a lover and her lover meant more to her than her husband and her child." He dropped his head against Reid's arm. "I remember how hard it was for my father to tell me she wasn't coming back. I cried. I begged. I thought it was my fault. That I had done something to make her leave."

"You know that isn't true."

"I do, now. I just didn't get it. How do you turn your back on your own child? When I was younger I used to fantasize that she would come back, that she would tell me she loved me. I even asked my father if we could go to America and find her. Every time I asked, he would look so sad and so hurt that I couldn't bear it, so I stopped asking. I didn't have a mother, but I had my father and he was my world."

"What happened?"

Luciano sighed. "I was at Oxford. In my second year and I was offered the chance to attend a writing institute over the summer in Vienna. As much as I hated business, I loved writing. The program was just four weeks and we would have the chance to write, to share our writing with others, to get feedback. I was so excited when I told Damian, my father. I begged him to let me go and to go on my own, no bodyguards, no servants. I just wanted to be like the other college students who were going. I even wanted to live in the dorm, eat cafeteria food, all of it."

"Seriously? Cafeteria food?"

Luc laughed shakily. "I know, hard to believe. My father said no at first. He was worried. I didn't know it but this feud between Maltese families was heating up. The last time things had gotten bad, people were killed, good people….."

"Tonio's father."

Luc turned his head. "Thorne told you." Reid nodded. "Giancarlo was my best friend growing up. When I realized that I liked boys better than girls, he was the first person I told. When he died…. I kind of fell apart. I started trying to forget in anyway I could. I did drugs, drank too much, slept with strangers- whatever if it meant that for a few minutes I didn't see Giancarlo's eyes glazing over, or feel his blood on my hands. It got bad. I did bad things." Luc looked up at Reid, his throat catching at the empathy he saw where he expected to see disgust. "I stopped going to school. I just….I wanted to die. Damian came to get me. I went into treatment, counseling, and therapy. It was weird because Damian didn't believe in any of it but he knew that I needed it and he loved me. I spent a month in rehab and then I went home to Malta. At first I hated being home, everywhere I went I would see my friend- the tree house we played in, the cave we got lost in, the window we broke trying to play rugby, all of it. And then something happened that changed everything. My father brought Tonio to the villa to live with his grandmother. He was just this little baby, just under a year old but he had Giancarlo's eyes and I found myself talking to him, showing him the places his father and I went to, taking care of him. I stopped thinking about forgetting and I started wanting to remember so that when Tonio asked about his father I could tell him. Later that year I went back to Oxford determined to get my life back." He paused. "I'm sorry I'm digressing."

"No you're sharing and I know it's hard."

"Not as hard as I thought it would be." Luke whispered before continuing. "Anyway back to the summer in Vienna. Things between my father and I had been tense since I told him I was gay six months before. We were just trying to get back onto an even keel."

"He didn't take the coming out well?"

"Malta is a deeply religious country and my father is very conservative in many ways. Learning that his only child liked boys would have been tough. Although the fact that my first boyfriend was a prince…."

"Seriously? A real prince?"

"Yes Reid, a prince. Actually you remind me of him. Red hair. Big ego…. All kidding aside he was a good guy. We had both mostly grown up without our mothers; we had huge expectations placed on us by our families….. He was a good first boyfriend and he has since become a good friend. Damian at least liked him by the time the relationship was over, right before I left for Vienna." Luc slowed down. "Anyway it took some groveling but eventually Damian agreed to give me what I wanted. I went to Vienna and it was as great as I knew it was going to be. The first two weeks were fantastic and then…."

Luc took a deep breath. "I was kidnapped. I had gone out with two friends from the institute to a tavern and we were walking back to the dorms, when these men appeared. They wore masks and had guns and before I knew it, my friends were dead and I was in the back of this van. They took me to some warehouse. I don't know where. I just know the next few days were hell."

Reid's arms tightened as he shivered. "Did they hurt you?"

"Yes. Repeatedly." He started to shake as flashes of those days went through his head and it was like he could feel each blow all over again.

"Shhh. You don't have to tell me anymore."

"I do. I want to. They held me for five days. On the fifth day, they put me back in the van and we drove for hours. When we stopped it was dark and we were in the middle of nowhere, just trees and this bridge. We were on one side of the bridge and there were cars on the other side. These lights turned on and I could see my father on the other side. I knew what was going to happen and I struggled. I tried to break loose. I tried to tell him to stop. That I wasn't worth it. They just dragged me onto the bridge and we kept going forward and as we walked from our side, my father walked from his side. He was all alone. I looked at him and all I could see was how much he loved me. We had a minute as we met and he pulled me close and he whispered how much he loved me, how proud he was of me. I couldn't say a thing. I knew what was going to happen and I couldn't say anything. I wanted to scream and I couldn't. I wanted him to know how much I loved him and I couldn't tell him. I wanted to thank him. I wanted to stop it, all of it and I couldn't."

"He knew how much you loved him."

"I hope so. God I hope so. The next thing I knew he was going with them and Thorne was there dragging me away and I told him to stop it, to save my father. He just said it was what had to happen, what Damian wanted. And then I heard the gunshot and the van pulled away. I ran across the bridge. Every step hurt and I didn't give a damn. All I could think of was my father and when I got there it was too late. He was dead. They had killed him. He had sacrificed himself for me." Luc was crying now and he turned into Reid. "It should have been me."

Reid held him close as he cried and all he could think was, thank God it wasn't. He would never meet Damian Grimaldi but he knew that he owed him a debt he could never repay.

He lifted Luc's head up and looked into watery brown eyes. Softly he kissed him and then kissed him again.

"I want you Reid Oliver," Luciano whispered. "I need you."

Reid closed his eyes, knowing he needed to do the right thing. "I want to. God, do I want to. But not like this. When I make love to you it will be about passion and desire and us."

Luc took a deep breath and let it out. He touched the side of Reid's face. "You said make love." Their eyes locked for a minute, before Luciano sighed and nestled into Reid's arms. "Could you maybe hold me for a minute?"

"For as long as you want." Reid whispered.

Luciano closed his eyes. Just as he was about to nod off, he heard Reid's voice. "Can I introduce you to the American tradition of skinny dipping?"


	4. Chapter 4

Luciano Grimaldi

Chapter Four

Memorial Hospital

4 days later

Reid's expression softened as he looked into Tonio's hospital room. The young boy had just finished his first round of treatments and Luciano had not left his side for the last 48 hours. It had been tough, the chemicals that Reid had injected the boy with were almost toxic and Tonio had been quite sick. Luciano had been there for the younger boy for all of it- holding him when he vomited and finding ways to distract him as the poison burned through his system. The few times that Tonio slept, Luciano had spent doing Grimaldi business by phone or by computer.

"I can hear you thinking," Luc's voice was tinged with a quiet exhaustion. The young Italian turned away from his ward and towards the other man. "It is good to see you."

Reid shook his head as he grabbed Tonio's chart. "I wish I could say the same." He glanced over the chart and back at Luciano. "You look like hell."

Luc laughed. "If nothing else you are good for my ego."

Reid frowned. "I mean it. When was the last time you slept or ate something besides cafeteria food? And before you answer, no, coffee from Starbucks doesn't count." He walked behind Luciano and put his hands on his shoulders. "You need to take care of yourself."

Luc nudged his face against Reid's hand. "I'm okay." It had been too long since their date at Laurel Falls and their schedules, coupled with Tonio's treatment, had kept them from seeing each other for more than just a stolen moment here and there. "I'm better now that you are here."

Reid chuckled. "Now who is good for whose ego?" He gently moved away from Luciano to listen to Tonio's breathing and heartbeat. "He really is doing better."

"Is it working?"

"I don't know. We won't know for at least a few more treatments."

"So all of this could be for nothing."

"Or it could be what saves his life. It's just too soon to tell." His hand gently traced the outline of the scar on Luc's cheek. "I know that patience is hard for you Italian playboy types, but you need to try to relax and give it time or I'm going to have two patients to take care of."

"Reid…I can't…" Luc's voice was low and halting. "I can't lose someone else."

Reid hesitated. Not even for this man would he indulge in false platitudes or empty promises. On the other hand, this was Luc and he would say or do anything to wipe that look from his eyes. "It will be okay," he whispered as he drew Luciano closer.

He felt the younger man shift in his arms. "Any point in telling you to go home and get some sleep?"

He felt Luke shake his head against his chest.

"Then at the very least you are going to come with me to get some breakfast."

"I can have someone pick me up something from the cafeteria."

"You need food Mr. Grimaldi. Real food. Not a bunch of processed chemicals masquerading as food."

"I can't let him wake up without me."

"He's sleeping and the sedatives we gave him will keep him sleeping for a few more hours. And I think one of those goons you have in the hallway can keep him company while I introduce you to the wonderful thing we call 'food.'"

"Will it be as wonderful as the skinny dipping was?" Luc actually smiled for a second. "Of course the thought of you minus clothing is actually stirring my appetite." He pulled Reid closer.

"Uhh Uhh," Reid took a step back and then turned Luc around and faced him towards the door. "Attempts to distract me with your sexiness are not going to work. Food first."

"You think I'm sexy?"

"Please. Nurse Thompson is eighty years old and she thinks you're sexy. Hell, Bob Hughes probably thinks you are sexy."

Luciano shuddered. "I hope not. He's really not my type."

"You have a type? I didn't realize playboy types had a type."

Luc stopped and turned around. "Reid….you know….you have to know that this….whatever this is…..it's different….with you it's different."

Reid smiled. "I know." He dropped a soft kiss on Luciano's forehead. "We can do the mushy talk after you eat."

"Has anyone told you that you are a slave driver?"

Reid's laughter was the only reply.

For all that Oakdale lacked in cultural offerings, it almost made up for it in food offerings. Breakfast at Al's had been good and he had been gratified to see Luc devour the eggs and bacon that he had ordered. He had been aware of the curious gazes they received from the other patrons. While he could attribute some of that to the fact that they were two very good looking men having breakfast together, he had a feeling that it had more to do with the two bodyguards staked out by the door.

He watched as Luc inhaled his coffee and frowned at his I-Phone.

"Problems?"

"Nothing I can't handle," Luciano replied absently as he texted a reply to whoever had called him.

"I meant with them." Reid gestured to the door. "Thing One and Thing Two haven't let you out of their sight."

A boyish grin crossed Luc's face. "You've read Dr. Seuss?"

"I had a pretty normal childhood…Of course I read The Cat in the Hat."

"My mother used to read me Dr. Seuss. After she left, Damian would try but I couldn't…it hurt too much so he stopped."

"Luc…." He wondered if Luc's mother would ever realize the damage she had done, how badly she had hurt her own child. He frowned. "Stop trying to change the subject."

"We need to work on this one track mind thing you have going on." Luciano leaned back in his chair. "I've always been a multi-tasker myself."

"Thing One and Thing Two?"

Luc sighed. "Fine." He stirred his coffee. "Thorne is being overprotective."

"Why?"

"There have been some…..threats." Luc admitted.

"Threats? What? Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"Reid… There are always threats. Sometimes they come from people who just wish I was dead and sometimes they come from people with specific ideas of how to make that happen."

"How can you be so blasé?"

"How can I not?" Luc whispered quietly. "I can't change who I am. I tried once and look how that turned out. I am Luciano Grimaldi. I run a multibillion dollar conglomerate with offices across the globe. I love history, have been known to lose myself in art galleries, subscribe to architectural digest, faithfully tape "Chrolli", and I can cook a mean pasta. I also get death threats. I can't and I won't let that stop me from living my life."

After a moment, Reid nodded. "Just be careful."

"I am. Always." Luc smiled. "At least about some things. I find that lately I have not been so careful with my heart."

Reid sputtered and then put his fork down. "That was just too corny."

"I know," Luc giggled. "It made you smile though."

"You make me smile."

Reid found himself grinning at the blush that swept Luc's face. While it sounded like something from a soap opera, there was nothing about Luciano that didn't fascinate him, so many sides to the other man that he looked forward to exploring. He had no doubt that Luciano was dangerous; knew for a fact that he was the sexiest man he had ever met; knew that he was intelligent, funny, and charming; but he also knew that there was a side to Luciano that was playful and exuberant despite the dark world he inhabited.

Luc's cell phone vibrated again and he answered it, typing into it with a resigned sigh and a soft swear.

"Luc?"

"I have to go."

Reid checked his pager. "It's not Tonio?"

Luc shook his head. "It's business. We have been trying to upgrade our shipping dock with better, more efficient technology. It's been an uphill battle to convince the workers that we need to make changes." Luciano texted furiously while he spoke. "They are afraid that the new technology means that they will lose their job."

"Are they right?"

Luc nodded. "Some jobs yes. However if we don't we will continue to lose out to companies that are more modern. Upgrading the tech will result in a loss of 10% of personnel, closing the docks because we go under will put everyone out of work." Luc met Reid's gaze steadily. "Have I told you that I sometimes hate my job?"

Luc was quiet for a second as he texted another message. "I have to go. Last night they delivered the first shipment of equipment and there was a protest. Some security guard got a little too caught up and one of the protestors was hurt. He will be okay, but the whole situation is ready to explode. I have to go and try to fix things before more people are hurt." He looked up again. "I have to go, but I don't want to leave Tonio." He hesitated. "Or you."

"Don't worry about me. I'm not going anywhere." He reached over and covered Luc's hand with his own. "I'll keep my eye on Tonio for you."

Luciano closed his eyes for a moment. "Thank you." His phone went off again and he stood up. "I'll call you." He turned to leave.

"Wait a minute." Reid caught up with Luc and grabbed his shoulder. "Promise me that you'll get some sleep."

"I'll sleep on the plane. I promise."

"A few hours isn't going to be enough."

"It's a long flight to England. I promise to spend it sleeping."

"England? You're going to England?"

Luc nodded. "Liverpool. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Okay, just…. stay away from red haired princes….or brunette princes or blonde princes…"

Luc laughed and moved closer to Reid, grabbing his shirt and pulling them so that their lips almost touched. "Don't worry. There is only one redhead that I'm interested in at the moment." He kissed Reid softly, his brown eyes fierce with some as yet undefined feeling. "I will be back Dr. Oliver."

"I will be waiting Mr. Grimaldi."

"Good."

Two days and two 15 hour shifts later, Reid was at Java drinking a cup of coffee and glancing through the newspaper. He was just coming off a long day which had ended with him spending time with Tonio in the children's ward they had moved him into. The boy had beaten him soundly at checkers three times in a row and Reid found himself looking forward to teaching the boy chess. He wondered idly if Luc played chess.

"Reid?"

Reid looked up and swore inwardly. "Noah."

"I haven't heard from you in a long time." The film student sat down in the empty seat opposite Reid. "You haven't called?"

Reid shrugged. "I've been busy."

"I guess being a doctor keeps you busy. I know that I've been busy at school myself. I finished my senior project."

"That's good," Reid struggled to keep the boredom out of his voice. "What are your plans now?"

"Just picking up extra shifts at Java and hanging out." Noah smiled. "Maybe we could get together? Catch a movie or something?"

"Noah." Reid stopped the other man from saying anything else. "Don't. Just don't. I have no desire to 'hang out' with you."

"Two months ago you wanted to do more than 'hang out.' Or have you forgotten that we had sex."

"I would like to forget that in a moment of stupidity and boredom on my part and God knows what on your part, we had sex." Reid put the newspaper down. "It's called a one-night stand for a reason, it's only supposed to last one night. I told you at the time it didn't mean anything and it didn't."

"It was good. We were good together."

"No, I was great and you were just along for the ride." Reid drew a breath and tried to temper his next words. "Look Noah I realize that the gay population of Oakhell could probably fit in a booth at Al's, but if you seriously think I'm interested in you in anyway you are barking up the wrong tree." He glanced around. "Besides I'm seeing someone."

"Who?"

"Someone who interests me, which you and this conversation no longer do." Reid replied quietly before putting the tip on the table and walking past Noah out to the sidewalk.

Reid fought the urge to glance behind him as he walked through Old Towne. He knew it had been a mistake to let himself be picked up that night. He had let his boredom and the frustration of being trapped in this small town lead him to respond positively to the first guy who pinged his gaydar. He really should have known better. He wondered what Luc would say about the fiasco with Noah. Then he wondered what Luc was doing right now. Was he taking care of himself? Getting enough sleep? Why hadn't he called? Maybe Luc had found his own "Noah." After all, Luc could literally have whoever he wanted. Why would he want Reid? Yeah if you needed your brain fixed, Reid Oliver was who you wanted. But for a relationship? Reid knew he was an egotistical workaholic, not exactly someone who most people would pick for a relationship. He and Luc had known each other for less than two weeks. Maybe he was reading more, making more, of what they had than it really was….now he was starting to sound like Katie with her he loves me/he loves me not relationship.

He glanced down at his watch. Enough second guessing. He was late for a meeting with Bob Hughes at the Lakeview Towers.

"Dr. Oliver," Bob Hughes greeted him as he came up to their table. "Thank you for agreeing to this meeting. I realize it's your day off and you probably have a thousand things to do so I'll try not to keep you. You know Lucinda Walsh, don't you? She's on our Board of Directors at Memorial as well as the CEO of Worldwide Industries."

Reid nodded. He had met the older woman at a few functions and realized that she was a sharp, intelligent woman who frankly scared him a little. She looked like she would be a difficult woman to bullshit.

"Lucinda came to me this morning with a proposition that I am sure you will be interested in. Lucinda is willing to donate the funds needed to build a state of the art neurological wing here at Memorial."

"Are you kidding? That's fabulous. When can we get started?" Reid had visions of opening the best facility in North America and as the surgeon in charge he would have access to the latest….

"Not so fast." Bob interrupted Reid's daydream sometime after he cured brain cancer and before he accepted the Nobel Prize for medicine. "There are some conditions that go with such a generous gift."

Reid stopped and looked at Mrs. Walsh. Lucinda nodded. "The first is that we name the facility after my grandson who died from a head injury he suffered in an automobile accident, Bryant Montgomery."

Before Lucinda could list her second request, Bob's pager went off and he excused himself to return to the hospital.

Reid watched him go and then turned back to Mrs. Walsh. "What are your other conditions?"

Lucinda took a sip of wine and considered Reid carefully. "I want my grandson."

"Excuse me?"

"It has come to my attention that you have been spending time with my grandson Dr. Oliver." Lucinda inclined her head. "My grandson is Luciano Grimaldi."

"Luc?" Reid almost spit out the water he had been sipping. "Luc is your grandson?"

"Yes."

"Does he know it?"

Lucinda rolled her eyes. "Dr. Oliver!" Exasperated, Lucinda continued. "Luciano has made it very clear that he wants nothing to do with myself or my daughter."

"Gee, I wonder why? Wait a minute could it have something to do with, I don't know, being abandoned?"

"As I said, Luciano has refused any contact with his family."

"Interesting definition of family."

"Look Dr. Oliver, I'm not going to defend my daughter to you. Regardless of what happened, Luciano is my grandson."

"Regardless of what happened? Do you even have a clue about what happened and what he has been through?"

"I'm not an idiot Dr. Oliver and my sources have kept me well informed about all aspects of Luciano's life. The Grimaldi name makes it very easy to keep track of what he does."

"Good. Then you don't need me."

"On the contrary. We need each other and we are in a unique position to help each other." Lucinda didn't flinch as she met Reid's gaze. "I want access to my grandson and you want a new neurology center. My proposal is simple, I will fund your neurology center to whatever level you require and you will convince Luciano to give us a chance."

"You are crazy." Reid had never been as shocked as he was at that moment.

"Not crazy. Just a desperate grandmother."

"A desperate blackmailing grandmother." Reid shot back. "No way. You can keep your money." Reid lowered his voice. "I don't know Luciano as well as I hope to, but what I do know I respect. I don't respect you or what you have tried to do here or what his so called mother did to him. The only person whose side I'm on is Luc's."

Lucinda watched as Reid stormed out and a half smile crossed her face as she slid open her cell phone and dialed a familiar number. "It's me. It went well. I think you're right." As she disconnected the call, Lucinda ordered another glass of wine and started to plot her next step.

Reid slammed the door as he entered Katie's house, glad that Katie and Jacob were out of town for the weekend. He was angry and he appreciated that he could slam doors and throw things without worrying about waking Jacob.

He couldn't believe Lucinda Walsh had tried to bribe him. He couldn't believe Lucinda Walsh was Luc's grandmother. Did that mean Luc's mother lived in Oakdale? The mother who had hurt him so badly. Luc came to Oakdale because of Tonio's illness. Because he, Reid Oliver, was here Luc had come. Knowing that the person who had hurt him the most was here, he had come anyway.

Reid sat down heavily. Jesus. What Luc must be going through? He closed his eyes. Okay, he could fix this. If they transferred Tonio to another hospital- Northwestern and he left Memorial…. Reid stopped. Transferring Tonio wasn't a good option and he was still under contract at Memorial… Maybe he couldn't fix this. Maybe all he could do was stand by Luc. His cell phone rang. Luciano. He swallowed before answering.

"Sex." Luc's voice sounded bright and happy.

"Excuse me?"

"Sex. Why haven't we had it yet?"

"Let's see. An unfortunate streak of nobility on my part and two very busy schedules." Reid found himself grinning. "Where are you?"

"Heathrow waiting for the jet to be fueled." Luc laughed. "I'm coming back."

"And that made you think of sex?"

"Actually," Luc's voice deepened. "You make me think of sex."

"The feeling is mutual. Very very mutual." Reid stretched out. "How did it go?"

"Great. I'm brilliant. Or at least I had a brilliant idea. A compromise." Luciano leaned back against the chair. "We found a way to cut the percentage of workers we need but in a way that felt good to all. We offered to pay tuition at the local university as part of the severance package. Many of the workers who wanted to go to college but settled for a job on the docks do to money issues took us up on our offer."

"That sounds expensive."

"It is, but the trade off is worth it. We have earned goodwill among all of our workers and the ones who make it through university we will recruit when they graduate." Luciano shrugged. "Enough business talk. How are you?"

"Fine. Tonio is doing well."

Luc frowned. "I know. Thorne has been keeping me updated. He tells me that you have checked in on Tonio frequently and I am very grateful." A pause. "Now tell me what is wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Reid…."

Silence. "I met your grandmother."

"What?" Luc stood up and walked over to the window. "You met Lucinda Walsh."

"Yes."

Luc sighed. "I'm sorry. You should not get caught up in my personal business."

"Damm it Luciano Grimaldi, I want to get caught up in your personal business." Reid lowered his voice. "I want to get caught up in you." A pause. "I was just blindsided."

"She is good at that."

"Tell me."

"Do you know that I tell you more than I tell my priest or my therapist?" Luc avoided answering.

"You have a therapist?"

Sigh. "No. It was an exaggeration."

"Thought so."

"You see through me too easily."

"And there is another attempt to distract me." Reid hesitated. "Look if you don't want to talk about it, we can go back to talking about sex."

Luc laughed and Reid found himself laughing as well.

"There isn't much to tell. She contacted me after Damian's death, while I was in the hospital. She said we were family and that family needed to stay together. I told her that I had just buried the only family I had and she could go to hell."

"Bet she took that well."

"I didn't care. I still don't. I meant what I said. Damian Grimaldi was all the family I had and all the family I wanted." Luc sighed. "She keeps trying to make contact and I keep ignoring her. It's not always easy because Grimaldi and Worldwide have some common interests, but I haven't seen or spoken to her since that day in the hospital."

"I understand."

"I know you do. Now tell me what she did to make you upset."

"She offered to fund a new neurology center at Memorial."

"Reid! That's great."

"As long as I hand you to her on a golden platter."

"What? She has no right."

"I turned her down."

"Reid I don't know what to say. She had no right to dangle your dream in front of you and then take it away." Luciano was furious. "You know that I would give you the money…"

"Stop. I told you when we started that I didn't want anything from you other than you and I meant it. I plan on meeting with Bob Hughes tomorrow. What Lucinda did was wrong but the idea of a new neurology center at Memorial is a good one and we will find the funding."

"Thank you." Luc whispered.

"For what?"

"For understanding. For being who you are." Luc closed his eyes. "For letting me be who I am."

"You're welcome."

There was a quiet silence between them. "Can we go back to talking about sex now?" Luc asked and Reid grinned.

"Why don't you tell that jet of yours to hurry up and then we don't just have to talk about it."

"Now who has a brilliant idea." Luc laughed softly. "It surprises me how much I miss you." He confessed.

"Me too." Reid admitted. "I keep having to remind myself that I've only known you for a couple of weeks. I just…" Reid paused. "I can't imagine not knowing you."

"Then don't. I think you should concentrate on imagining all of the things that I will do to you when I get to Oakdale."

"Things that you will do to me?"

"Of course." Luc grinned.

"We'll see." Reid drawled. "I may just focus on imagining the things that I will do to you."

"We'll see." Luc mimicked Reid.

Luciano turned to see the pilot in the doorway of the private lounge. "I have to go. The jet is ready. See you soon."

"Soon" Reid confirmed before hanging up.

Luc stared at the phone and frowned, motioning to the pilot to wait. He pushed the cell phone buttons.

"It's me. I need to speak to Kevin. Now."

"Luc? What's wrong?" Kevin Walker answered the phone immediately. "Are you still in England? I heard things went well."

"They did." Kevin had been Luc's personal attorney since they had met years before. Kevin had opened his own small law firm and was one of the few people that Luc trusted without reservation. "I need your help."

"Anything. You know that."

"I need controlling interest in Worldwide Industries and I need it by the end of the day."

Hours later Reid was awakened by the phone. He reached for the phone as he turned on the light by his bed. "Luc?"

"No its Thorne, Dr. Oliver."

"Sorry. I was expecting…." Reid felt the cold begin to crawl up inside him and take hold. There was not a good reason that he could think of for Thorne to be calling him. "What's wrong?"

"Luciano….Luciano's plane went down. There were no survivors."


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I apologize for the delay. I had this written, decided that I hated what I had written, and rewrote it all. This version I actually somewhat like. Also I apologize in advance to those who might actually like Janet and Liberty.

Chapter Five

"No survivors." Reid hung up the phone in devastated silence, the phrase echoing back and forth in his heads. It wasn't possible. It was unreal.

Luc was dead. Gone. He would never see that smile, never hear the undertone of clear amusement, and never feel the touch of those long fingers….

Reid sank to his knees. Luc was dead. He closed his eyes and let the thought consume him, but he still couldn't believe it. Luc was too filled with life; it was what had drawn him to the young Italian in the first place. The fearlessness, the sense of being around someone who lived each moment with passion, who lived in the moment without worrying about the future. In many ways it was the complete opposite of how he had lived his life. Reid had always been goal orientated- focused on getting into Harvard, then med school, and then being the best in his field. Up until a few weeks ago life for Reid Oliver had been about being the accolades and the awards. It had taken Luc to show him what else there was. He had laughed more and felt more in the last two weeks than he had his entire life and as intense as it had been, it had only been the promise of what the next 30 years could be. And now it was gone. All of it.

Luciano Grimaldi was dead. The world which had been so full of color had gone gray and cold and so damned brittle that he felt like one deep breath and he would shatter. No survivors. Luc, his Luc, was gone. And Reid had no idea how he was going to go on without him.

The silence in the BMW was stifling as Thorne maneuvered the car through the traffic towards the crash site. Reid closed his eyes, feeling sick to his stomach at that phrase "crash site" and took a deep breath, striving desperately for control.

He wished that it was a mistake; that they had the wrong jet or that Luc had somehow survived. It would be like one of those bad soap operas that Katie was always watching- where the hero really wasn't dead and that somehow, miraculously, Luc would be there, waiting for him, alive and glorious.

Thorne explained that the plane had gone down in a field just south of the airport, as it made its final approach for landing. The pilot had reported nothing and there had been no indication from the plane that they knew what was about to happen. Looking up, Reid could already see the line of emergency vehicles and network vans.

Thorne's jaw clenched. "It will be a madhouse. The press is going to descend like vultures. My staff has already started fielding phone calls from around the world wanting to know what is going to happen to Grimaldi Industries and the Grimaldi fortune." He slammed his fist against the steering wheel. "This should not have happened. I should not have let Luciano go to England."

"Let Luc go?" Reid laughed abruptly. "When was the last time you ever let Luc do anything? You could have barricaded the airports and Luc would still have found a way to get to England if he thought it was that important."

Thorne sighed. "He always was a stubborn jackass." Thorne took a deep, shuddering breath. "I can't believe he's gone."

"Yeah, me neither."

The car slowed to a stop and was swarmed by reporters. Thorne ignored the hordes of people surrounding the small car and turned to Reid.

"I can still take you back to your apartment, Dr. Oliver." Thorne grimaced. "It will not be a pleasant sight at the crash site and these reporters will ask questions you may not want to answer. I would understand it if you wanted to skip the circus that is about to start."

Reid shook his head. "I need to see it."

Thorne tried again. "There are bound to be officials and…"

"I'm here and I'm going to see this through." Reid took a deep breath. He had to keep it under control. "I know you are overwhelmed and I appreciate you letting me come with you and I know you mean well, but you have to understand that I need…"

"Dr. Oliver," Thorne's voice was even and Reid turned slightly to look at him. "Luciano was right. You do babble when you are nervous."

"Luc was right about a lot of things…" Reid whispered, his words breaking off as determinedly opened the door and stepped outside. He ignored the throngs of reporters and the shouted questions and focused on the crash site. He stared in horror. The crash site was covered in debris from the plane and dozens of small fires filled the air with the acid smell of jet fuel and smoke. Reid started to gag when he realized he could smell burning flesh as well.

Reid didn't know what he had been hoping for, but it had not been the stark and ugly reality facing him. There were clearly no survivors, no chance of Luc being alive.

His eyes were locked on the seen in front of him when he felt Thorne stand beside him. "What in the hell happened?"

Thorne's sigh was at once angry and resigned. "My guess- some kind of bomb."

"What?" Reid turned shocked.

Thorne nodded. "Planes don't drop out of the sky without a reason."

"Jesus," Reid breathed out shakily.

"Oh not." Thorne was silent for a moment. "Let's get out of here. There is nothing that either of us can do for Luciano here."

"What happens now?" Reid asked after they had maneuvered their way back to the car.

"Lawyers. Probate. Long lost Grimaldi heirs coming out of the woodwork. I predict at least half a dozen claims of illegitimate children popping up in the tabloids, each making a claim on the Grimaldi fortune." Thorne frowned. "You don't really care about that do you?"

"Not a bit," Reid murmured. "I was just making small talk."

Thorne almost laughed. "Always honest to a fault Dr. Oliver. No wonder Luciano liked you so much."

"He did?" Reid sat up quietly.

Thorne thought for a moment. "Luciano was, despite the flamboyance, intensely private. I can't tell you that he went around making flowery declarations." Thorne's voice lowered. "I will tell you that you made him nervous in a good way."

"Nervous?"

"In a good way."

"Oh." And despite everything, the smallest of smiles flitted across Reid's face as they made their way back to Oakdale.

"I'll just drop you off at your place and head back to the mansion."

Reid was noncommittal, dreading the idea of having to face Katie and her sympathy but not having anywhere else or anyone else to go to.

"Unless…. you can come back to the house with me. Actually it might be best if you did. It won't take long for those reporters who were at the crash site to figure out who you are and where you live. At least at the house, they wouldn't be able to get past the gate."

Reid nodded before turning to glance at the other man. He really wanted to be around someone who had known Luc.

"Thank you," he whispered.

One hour later Reid found himself in a place that he had spent a lot of time fantasizing about over the last two weeks, Luciano Grimaldi's bed. It wasn't quite the way he had imagined it. He had left Thorne in the study making phone calls and had wandered from room to room, searching even in this rented home for some sign of Luc's personality. Except for a few personal photos placed here and there, Luc must have rented it fully furnished even down to the bedspread. Somehow he didn't see a floral print, even on a black background, as Luc's style. He sat down on the bed and inhaled slowly. Luc was gone and what was left. Memories of few stolen hours spent together, phone calls made late at night, and moments snatched during the day. Reid shook his head. He had been an idiot. He should have spent more time with Luc. He should have canceled appointments, moved surgeries around, or done whatever it took to spend time with Luc instead of putting it off. If he had…maybe things would have been different. Maybe losing Luc wouldn't hurt so much.

God, who was he kidding? Whether they had had weeks or months or years together, losing Luc was always going to hurt. Reid picked up a picture of Luc and his father that was on the nightstand. Gently he traced Luc's image with his thumb. Maybe they hadn't really had a chance, after all he wasn't exactly a prince and God knew he had never seen himself in the role of Cinderella. Maybe even if this hadn't happened he would have lost Luc someday. He could handle losing Luc that way, but like this? A world without Luciano Grimaldi? He didn't know if he could live in that world or if he even wanted to.

He knew what Luc would say and what Luc would want. Luc would want him to be okay, to smile, to find things to be happy about. Tomorrow or maybe the next day or maybe the day after that he would try to do what Luc would have wanted. Right now all he wanted to do, all he could do, was crawl into a bed that he might have shared with the man he might have loved and cry.

Reid was dreaming. He and Luc were at the beach somewhere and the sand was warm beneath him and the sky was an amazing blue above him. He could hear the lapping of the waves and the laughter of others playing in the water. His head was pillowed against Luc's chest and Luc's arms were around him as they both dozed in the heat. He tried to remember the last time he had been this happy and realized that he had never been this happy. Ever.

"Reid…Come on Reid…. Sono qui….Wake up." He could hear Luc's words in his ear but he refused to listen. This was where he wanted to be, with Luc. He even imagined Luc's gentle kiss against his cheek and his long fingers running through Reid's hair.

"Reid….sweetheart….Non li lascero ancora…."

The voice was so real, it felt like if he just opened his eyes he would be able to see Luc again. Wishfully, he opened them slightly.

"Luc?" Reid bolted upright and stared in shock. "Oh God, is it really you? Are you some kind of ghost? Because that's okay, just don't leave me again, okay? I can handle the ghost thing…..we can be all the Ghost and Mrs. Muir just don't leave. I know it's selfish but don't move on, okay? Just stay with me. No light tunnels or heavenly music or whatever. I don't want to lose you again." Reid reached out a hand to touch Luc, but pulled it back not wanting to find out that he was only imagining Luc's presence. He looked down at the floral print- he didn't know roses came in that shade of blue.

Luc laughed gently. "I'm not a ghost and I'm not going anywhere. I told you, I'm not leaving you again." He reached out and tilted Reid's chin up. "I'm here. It's really me."

Reid slowly reached out and found solid muscle. "It's really you?" His voice was shaky and his vision blurred. "They said you were dead. I saw the crash."

Luc's voice was rough and filled with sorrow. "I know. It was a mistake. I wasn't on the jet. I flew home from New York on a commercial flight and I didn't know, I didn't know until I heard the news report in the taxicab what had happened…."

"I don't understand. You're dead."

"God sweetheart, I'm not. I swear I'm not. I'm alive." Reid felt the comforter being pulled back around his shoulders. He could hear someone crying and realized distantly that it was him. He could feel himself start to shake. "Please Reid, its okay. I'm here. Just take a deep breath. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I know what it would have done to me if I thought anything happened to you." Again the hands gentle on him, pulling him close. Reid wanted to say something but found that he had lost his voice along with his self-control.

"Reid…." Luc's voice was a quiet whisper in the night. "Reid, I know it's crazy and if you had any doubts before this whole nightmare has probably convinced you to run in the opposite direction, but I need to tell you something. I should have told you earlier but I was a coward. I didn't know it could happen this fast. I didn't know I could feel this way and it's so intense it scares me. But I'm more scared by the thought that if something had happened to me, you would never have known how I felt." Reid found himself staring into Luc's brown eyes, mesmerized by their warmth. "It's probably way too soon to tell you this, but I've fallen in love with you."

Reid felt the cold inside him start to withdraw as he started to believe that maybe he wasn't dreaming. "You're real."

"Definitely real."

"Not dead?"

"Not dead."

Reid took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I don't….second chances like this don't happen to me."

Luc shrugged. "Me neither. However maybe, just maybe they happen to us."

Their gazes locked for a moment and then Reid nodded solemnly, just before throwing himself into Luc's arms.

Their embrace was awkward as Luc refused to remove the comforter he had pulled around Reid and neither of them wanted to let go of the other. Reid didn't care. There were questions that still needed answering and calls that needed to be made. Reid didn't care. He just wanted to sit with Luc's arms around him and listen to his heart beat. It was all he wanted. All he would ever want.

"Luc?"

"Reid?"

"What you said before?"

"Yes."

"Me too."

Later, Reid was never really clear on how much later, Reid sat next to Luc on one of the leather couches in the living room, his head resting against Luc's shoulder as he accepted the cup of coffee Thorne handed to him. He still couldn't believe it. Luc was alive. Really, honestly, truly alive. The realization that he had Luc back again made him tremble.

"Shhh," Luc whispered in his ear. "No more of that, okay?"

"Sorry," Reid murmured ironically. "It's not everyday that your boyfriend comes back from the dead."

"I like that."

"Coming back from the dead?"

"No, you calling me your boyfriend." Luc reached over to kiss Reid softly.

"Enough." Thorne's voice interrupted them. "There will be time for the mushy stuff later. Right now Luciano I need to know what happened and how it is that you are alive."

Luciano leaned back against the sofa. "I got lucky?" When neither Reid nor Thorne responded, he shrugged. "I guess you want details. It started when Reid told me about his meeting with Lucinda before I left England." He stopped and turned to Reid. "Just remember that I am a Grimaldi." Then he turned back to Thorne. "I called Kevin and asked him to buy up controlling interest in Worldwide."

Reid dropped the empty cup he was holding. "You did what?"

Luc shrugged. "I was angry. I couldn't let her use you to get to me."

"So you bought a multi-million dollar international conglomerate?" Reid laughed. "You know I would have been okay with flowers."

"Really, flowers?"

"Okay, maybe not flowers. Maybe a Harley-Davidson? A Porsche?"

"I'll keep that in mind," Luc grinned tiredly happy to see Reid start to come back from the broken person he saw when he walked into his bedroom. "And I didn't actually buy the entire company, just controlling interest. Anyway, Kevin worked his magic somehow or another and we decided to meet in New York to sign the paperwork and get the ball going on a takeover."

"Only when the jet arrived in New York I learned that Kevin's plane was delayed and we needed to wait for him, which was fine." Luc paused. "In the airport lounge, there was this woman, with her daughter who must have been 16 maybe 17. They had just been in New York to see a specialist for the daughter's leukemia and were waiting for a flight to Oakdale. Only there was a mix-up or something and they got bumped from their flight. The daughter, she didn't look good, so I…. I let them use the jet to get to Oakdale. I had the crew put them on the plane and take off. I planned on catching a regular commercial flight to Oakdale as soon as I finished meeting with Kevin." He took a deep breath gulp of air and turned to Reid. "I killed them, didn't I? If I had stayed out of it, they wouldn't have been on that plane, and I don't even know who they were, and they had nothing to do with me and…"

"Luciano!" Thorne's voice snapped Luc's broken ramble. "This, none of this, is your fault."

"He's right," Reid whispered softly. "You were doing a good dead."

"Right…." Luciano shrugged skeptically before continuing. "I stayed behind and waited for Kevin. We spent a few hours locked up in a hotel room" Reid raised an eyebrow "going over papers and listening to his baby daughter gurgle on the speaker phone, and then we caught a commercial flight to Oakdale."

"We?" Thorne looked around. "Mr. Walker is here."

Luc nodded and waved towards a doorway leading to the hall that the guest suites were off of. "I would say that he was off doing something fun, like engaging in phone sex with his husband, but Kevin really is more of the prude in that..."

"I resent that," a smooth voice stated and Reid looked up as a dark haired gentleman entered the room. He was shorter than Luciano and well-dressed. He moved to the sideboard and fixed himself a drink. "I can do phone sex. I have done phone sex. Just in the 95 days since we brought Sophia home there hasn't been time or privacy for any sex, phone or otherwise..." Kevin stopped. "Too much information, right?" He swallowed. "You do realize that CNN is running a special on the life and untimely death of one Luciano Grimaldi."

"Don't worry. I'm sure they will be able to follow it up with the story of the miracle resurrection of Luciano Grimaldi soon enough."

"Probably. Scotty says hi and when did you invite him to spend the summer with you on Malta?"

"Relax. The invitation included you and Sophia. Just not the rest of your family, if you don't mind." Luc relaxed a little as the conversation shifted. "He mentioned when we talked last week that he wanted to expand his cooking skills. A summer in Italy would be perfect."

"Right. I know you Luciano Grimaldi and I know exactly how broad your definition of cooking is." Kevin grumbled.

Reid groaned. "Don't tell me," he gestured at Kevin. "Another ex?"

"What? No way. Just no way." Luc grinned. "Kevin is so not my type." He paused. "Scotty on the other hand…"

"Uhm…no. I don't need to hear one more time about your fling with my husband when he was working as a waiter in Paris." Kevin crossed the room to stand in front of Luc and Reid. "Just remember Scotty is now and forever off the market." Kevin grinned. "And from what I can tell you are now as well."

Luc blushed and Reid grinned. "Oh he is." Reid didn't even try to keep the possessiveness in his voice toned down.

"Please," Thorne stood up and made himself another drink. "All we need is a cheesy soundtrack and I could be in the middle of a gay Desperate Housewives episode."

"Actually, I've always leaned more in the Grey's Anatomy direction myself." Reid piped up. "However Thorne is right. You almost died tonight."

"And good people did die." Luc sobered instantly.

"I've contacted the media outlets to let them know that you are still very much alive and still very much in control of the Grimaldi fortune." Thorne said. "I've been fielding calls from the FAA, the FBI, Interpol, Homeland Security, MI5, and the Oakdale PD. They're going to need you to answer questions.

Luciano nodded. Reid sat up. "Wait a minute. MI-5? The British version of the CIA?"

Kevin looked at Luc. "Henry?"

Luciano shrugged. "He's a little overprotective. I'll call him." He smiled at Reid's frown. "On speaker phone."

"And the authorities?"

"Tomorrow morning. Tell them I'll meet with them tomorrow morning. They'll have the full cooperation of myself, my staff, and anything else that they need for their investigation." Luc carefully stood up. "I want to know what happened and who caused it as much as they do." He glanced out the window. "I also want our own people on it. I hate to say it but this feels too much like an inside job. The odds of an outsider getting close enough to the jet to touch it much less plant an explosive device…." Luc shook his head.

Ignoring the other two men, Reid stood up and walked behind Luc, wrapping his arms around him from behind. "I thought your people were loyal."

"They are. Or at least they were." Luc turned around. "Our number one priority is finding out what happened. I want this threat, whoever or whatever it is, eliminated. In the meantime…." Luc looked up at Reid. "Move in with me."

"What?"

"All those reporters camped out there know who you are and what you mean to me. That makes you something that can be used to get to me and I won't let that happen. No more collateral damage Reid. I… I need to make sure that you are safe."

"I have a job. I just can't walk away from the hospital or my patients." Reid hesitated. "What about Tonio's treatments?"

"He can have them here. I'll get whatever equipment or staff you need. I will do whatever it takes. I just need to know that you are safe."

"Luc I can't just leave Memorial…" His voice trailed off and the room grew silent, almost oppressive.

"I know." Luc expression grew sad "It's okay." His back stiffened. "Thorne will drive you back to your house. You may need to lie low for a few days but all of this is bound to quiet down and..."

"Wait a minute." Reid stared at Luc in horror. "Are you breaking up with me?" He stared at Luciano in growing horror.

Luc couldn't meet Reid's eyes. "If it's the only way you will let me keep you safe…"

Reid felt like he was on the edge of a precipice and if he took a wrong step he was going to fall. What had he told himself during those long horrible hours when he thought Luc was dead? Something about grabbing life and not hiding behind excuses anymore. Not letting anything come before Luc.

"Give me your credit card."

Luc looked up puzzled.

"Why?"

"I need to go shopping."

"What?"

"That floral print on your comforter is hideous. If I'm going to be moving in with you and sharing that bed with you, I'm definitely buying a new comforter. Maybe new sheets. And I have to check the closet to make sure I have room for my clothes and…"

Reid's litany of needs was stopped when Luc grabbed him and kissed him, hard and passionate.

Then Luc drew back. "Whatever you want Dr. Oliver." He then stepped back and he motioned to Kevin. "I need you to do me a favor?"

"It doesn't involve holding a camera, does it?" Kevin quipped.

"No," Luc turned back to Reid, his expression serious. "I need you to get a message to Lucinda Walsh. Tell her that I need to meet with her as soon as possible. Tell her to bring her daughter with her." Luc's voice was even and methodical. "There are things that I need to say to my mother. Things that she may not want to hear."


End file.
